The British Broadcasting Corporation, better known as BBC, is a publicly funded public service broadcaster famous for its cutting-edge journalism, impartiality and world-class program selection. More recently, the revered institution has been engulfed in a storm of impartiality, along with backlash over its reporting on anti-Semitic events and that infamous interview with Prince Andrew.


Although the broadcaster has been consumed by its fair share of controversy in recent years, it hasn’t all been bad. In 2016, the BBC consulted 177 film critics from around the world with the aim of compiling a list of best movies of the 21st century. Let’s take a look at some of those who made it into the Top 20.

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15 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days

BAC Films

Recipient of the Palme d’Or 2007, 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days speaks to the millions of women and girls affected by the Roe v. Wade last year, and to millions of others around the world deprived of the freedom to choose. This moving film follows a Romanian college student who discovers she is pregnant and, due to the country’s strict abortion laws, must seek illegal means to have an abortion.

14 The act of killing

The act of killing 2013
Dogwoof Pictures

Doable, the scariest documentary of the last 23 years, Joshua Oppenheimer The act of killing is an examination of the mass genocide that occurred in Indonesia in the mid-1960s, where a purge against communists was carried out. The act of killing offers unprecedented access to the main orchestrators of these attacks and places them in a surreal environment where they re-enact their barbaric crimes.

13 children of men

Clive Owen in Children of Men
Universal images

Roma Alfonso Cuarón teams up with an extremely scrupulous Clive Owen in the 2006 dystopian epic, the screen adaptation of the novel by PD James, children of men. Arguably the best film of 2006, Owen delivers a career-defining performance as activist Theo Faron, who finds himself navigating a would-be humanitarian savior through lawless terrain after an infertility pandemic sweeps the world, threatening to annihilate humanity.

12 Zodiac

Zodiac
Paramount Pictures

David Fincher has assembled an all-star ensemble for his gripping 2007 thriller, Zodiac. Based on the novel by Robert Graysmith and the real story of the Zodiac Killer who wreaked havoc on San Francisco in the late 60s and early 70s. The film follows the police department and an obsessed cartoonist, who embark on a manhunt, trying to find the perpetrator murderer.

11 Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis
CBS Movies

Music and its commercialization has regularly been a topic covered by popular media. At Ethan and Joel Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis offers artistic insight into the struggles of a folk singer as he tries to climb the slippery stairs of an industry that doesn’t match his need for freedom of musical expression.

ten There is no country for old people

There is no country for old people
Miramax Movies

It is a daunting task to refrain from criticizing film critics here, but There is no country for old people only to sit tenth is nonsense of the first order. That said, at least the Coen Brothers dark comedy sits in the prestigious “Top 10” range. It’s no surprise that Javier Bardem won an Oscar for his portrayal of chief antagonist, Anton Chigurh, a remorseless, psychopathic killer who is in relentless and relentless pursuit of the hunter, Llewyn Moss (Josh Brolin). who fled with a suitcase. containing 2 million dollars.

9 A separation

A separation
Filmira

Parental politics usually means a one-way ticket to divorce, but when it comes to choosing between one’s own sick parent and a child, the conflict becomes inherently emotional, as in Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian family drama, A separation. The emotionally complex film details a mother’s struggle to convince her husband to leave Iran with her and their daughter, and her reluctance due to her father’s deteriorating health.

8 Yi Yi: one one and one two

Yi Yi
Kuzui Enterprises

Edward Yang’s Taiwanese romantic drama first premiered to universal acclaim, the multi-award-winning low-budget film in the 2000s Yi Yi: one one and one two is a beautiful portrait of the Taipei Jian family. Using a three-point perspective, the film focuses on the three main characters, a father, son and daughter, each addressing issues of love, reconciliation, individualism and social acceptance. .

7 The tree of life

Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life
Entertainment at the top

Arguably most famous for one of the best films of 1973, Badlands and 1996 The thin red linelegendary director, Terrence Malick produced another critically acclaimed, Palme d’or screenplayin the form of 2011 The tree of life, a graceful ode to humility. This poetic film is a thematic exploration of love and loss, majestically captured through the lens of film pioneer Emmanuel Lubezki.

6 Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
Focus characteristics

Who would have guessed that such an original idea for a feature film would have come from the mind of Charlie Kaufman? The screenwriting genius penned a superbly unique film in 2004, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mindstarring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in the lead roles of two former lovers who, to overcome the painful hurdle of their breakup, erase their memories of each other.

5 Childhood

Ellar Coltrane as Mason Evans Jr. in Boyhood
IFC Films

Captured over 11 years, the coming-of-age drama, Childhood, follows a nuclear family after divorce and how children MJ (Ellar Coltrane) and Samantha (Zoe Graham) manage life after their parents separate. It’s a sobering storyline, which confronts the very modern topics of divorce, single parents and living between two houses.

4 Taken away as if by magic

Taken away as if by magic
Toho

The world of anime saw a gradual increase in Western popularity from the late 80s to the early 2000s, with the likes of My Neighbor Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess MononokeAnd Howl’s Howl’s Moving Castlebut it was in 2001 Taken away as if by magic which remains unmatched as one of the best Japanese animations of all time.

3 there will be blood

there will be blood
Miramax Movies

An argument that has been circulating in many film courses at university and university debate halls for the past 16 years has been between Paul Thomas Anderson there will be blood and the Coens There is no country for old people, and it’s clear to see who is the winner among the BBC’s 177 reviews. Daniel Day-Lewis is emphatic in his portrayal of oil baron Daniel Plainview as his greed and insatiable appetite for wealth, power and reputation take center stage.

2 love mood

Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in In the Mood for Love
Pictures of block 2

At Wong Kar-Wai’s love mood is an undisputed triumph of Hong Kong cinema. This tender illustration of love, loss, betrayal and loneliness concerns the lives of two neighbors, both of whom suspect their other half of a romantic foul play, aka infidelity. As their bond grows stronger, the couple must distance themselves from their urges in order to remain morally reproachful.

1 Mulholland Drive

Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring in Mulholland Drive.
Universal images

The hypnotic and hallucinatory nightmare of David Lynch Mulholland Drive is a story of bewilderment and confusion induced by amnesia, which leaves the audience with more questions than answers. Pursuing the Hollywood dream, Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) meets the amnesiac Rita who, following a car accident, tries to piece together her now fragmented existence. Eighth in the BFI’s Sight and Sound pollthe sometimes incomprehensible and disjointed nature of Lynch’s masterpiece is a sight like no other.